Method and system for filling a gas cylinder

ABSTRACT

A charge station is provided for filling a gas cylinder with gas. The charge station includes a gas output port configured to be fluidly connected to a supply of gas. The gas output port is configured to be fluidly connected to the gas cylinder for filling the gas cylinder with gas from the supply of gas. The charge station also includes a control system operatively connected to the gas output such that the control system is configured to control filling of the gas cylinder, and a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader operatively connected to the control system, the RFID reader configured to read data from an RFID tag on the gas cylinder.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and the benefit of the filing dateof U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/097,091, filed on Sep. 15, 2008,entitled “An Automatic Gas Cylinder Filling System Using RFID,” which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The subject matter described and/or illustrated herein relates generallyto filling gas cylinders with gas, and more particularly, to a methodand system for filling a gas cylinder.

Various conditions may be met to properly and safely fill gas cylinderswith gas. For example, various cylinder fill pressures exist for gascylinders. If a gas cylinder is filled with the wrong pressure, thecylinder will not be completely filled or an overpressure will result,which may rupture an overpressure disc of the cylinder. Gas cylindersmay also need to be periodically hydrostatically tested to ensure safefilling. Moreover, each gas cylinder has a specific service life basedon the type of cylinder. Expired gas cylinders must be removed fromservice when the service life has expired. Moreover, if the hydrostatictest date or service life of a gas cylinder has expired, the cylindershould not be refilled.

At least some known gas cylinder filling systems use a manual processwhereby a trained operator inspects each gas cylinder prior to fillingto obtain the necessary information for properly and safely filling thecylinder. For example, at least some known processes for filling gascylinders with gas require a visual inspection of the cylinder by atrained operator before the cylinder is filled. Operators may thereforeneed to be trained to properly inspect gas cylinders. For example,operators may need to be trained to determine the operating pressure ofeach cylinder and to manually set the filling system to the determinedfill pressure. If the operator fails to set the fill pressure to theproper value, the cylinder may be insufficiently filled or theoverpressure disc in the cylinder may rupture. Operators may also needto be trained to examine a manufactured date, an expiration date, and/ora hydrostatic test date on each gas cylinder to determine whether thecylinder should be in service before filling. For example, if thecylinder hydrostatic test date or service life has expired and is notobserved by the operator, there is an increased risk of the cylinderfailing during filling or operation. Moreover, maintenance and recordkeeping of cylinders may be required to ensure that cylinders arehydrostatically tested when required and/or have been taken out ofservice once service life has expired.

There is a need for a gas cylinder filling system that may be operatedby an operator having less training as compared to at least some knowngas cylinder filling systems. There is a need for a gas cylinder fillingsystem that may reduce a number of operator errors as compared to atleast some known gas cylinder filling systems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, a charge station is provided for filling a gascylinder with gas. The charge station includes a gas output portconfigured to be fluidly connected to a supply of gas. The gas outputport is configured to be fluidly connected to the gas cylinder forfilling the gas cylinder with gas from the supply of gas. The chargestation also includes a control system operatively connected to the gasoutput such that the control system is configured to control filling ofthe gas cylinder, and a radio frequency identification (RFID) readeroperatively connected to the control system, the RFID reader configuredto read data from an RFID tag on the gas cylinder.

In another embodiment, a gas cylinder filling system is provided forfilling a gas cylinder with gas. The gas cylinder filling systemincludes a supply of gas and a charge station. The charge stationincludes a gas output port fluidly connected to the supply of gas. Thegas output port is configured to be fluidly connected to the gascylinder for filling the gas cylinder with gas from the supply of gas.The charge station also includes a control system operatively connectedto the gas output such that the control system is configured to controlfilling of the gas cylinder, and a radio frequency identification (RFID)reader operatively connected to the control system, the RFID readerconfigured to read data from an RFID tag on the gas cylinder.

In another embodiment, a method is provided for filling a gas cylinderwith gas using a charge station. The method includes reading data from aradio frequency identification (RFID) tag on the gas cylinder, andfilling the gas cylinder with gas based at least in part on data readfrom the RFID tag on the gas cylinder.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a gas cylinderfilling system.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the gas cylinder filling system shown inFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an exemplary alternative embodiment of agas cylinder filling system.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a methodfor filling a cylinder with gas using the gas cylinder filling systemshown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a gas cylinderfilling system 10. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the gas cylinderfilling system 10. The gas cylinder filling system 10 includes a chargestation 12 and a supply of gas 14. As will be described below, thecharge station 12 is configured to fill a gas cylinder 16 with a gas.The gas may be any gas, such as, but not limited to, a breathing gas(such as, but not limited to, air, oxygen, nitrox, tirmix, heliox,heliair, hydreliox, hydrox, neox, and/or the like) and/or the like. Thegas cylinder 16 may be any type of gas cylinder, such as, but notlimited to, a gas cylinder for a self-contained breathing apparatus(SCBA), a space suit, medical equipment, a self-contained underwaterbreathing apparatus (SCUBA), and/or the like. Although shown asgenerally cylindrical in shape, in addition or alternatively to thecylindrical shape, the gas cylinder 16 may include any other shape(s).

The charge station 12 includes a housing 18, a data collection system20, one or more radio frequency identification (RFID) readers 22, one ormore RFID readers 24, one or more gas output ports 26, and a controlsystem 28. The housing 18 includes one or more cylinder docks 19 thatreceive the gas cylinder 16. Each gas output port 26 extends adjacent acorresponding one of the cylinder docks 19 and is fluidly connected tothe supply of gas 14, for example via one or more hoses 30. Each gasoutput port 26 is configured to be fluidly connected to an input port 32of the gas cylinder 16 for filling the gas cylinder 16 with gas from thesupply 14. Specifically, when a gas cylinder 16 is desired to be filled,the gas cylinder 16 is mounted on the cylinder dock 19 and the inputport 32 of the gas cylinder 16 is fluidly connected to the gas outputport 26. Although two gas output ports 26 and two cylinder docks 19 areshown, the charge station 12 may include any number of gas output ports26 and any number of cylinder docks 19, for example for simultaneouslyfilling any number of gas cylinders 16.

In the exemplary embodiment, the supply of gas 14 is not a component ofthe charge station 12. For example, in the exemplary embodiment thesupply of gas 14 is not held by the housing 18 of the charge station 12.Alternatively, the supply of gas 14 is a component of the charge station12. For example, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an exemplaryalternative embodiment of a gas cylinder filling system 110. The gascylinder filling system 110 includes a charge station 112 and a supplyof gas 114. The charge station 112 includes a housing 118, a datacollection system 120, one or more radio frequency identification (RFID)readers 122, one or more RFID readers 124, one or more cylinder docks119, one or more gas output ports 126, and a control system 128. Thesupply of gas 114 is a component of the charge station 112. For example,in the exemplary embodiment the supply of gas 114 is held within aninternal compartment 115 of the charge station housing 118. Each gasoutput port 126 is fluidly connected to the supply of gas 114. Each gasoutput port 126 is configured to be fluidly connected to an input port132 of a gas cylinder 116 for filling the gas cylinder 116 with gas fromthe supply 114.

Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the control system 28 controls fillingof the gas cylinder 16 with gas from the supply 14. In the exemplaryembodiment, the control system 28 includes a control panel 34, anoptional processor 36, and an optional memory 38. The processor 36 mayautomatically control some or all portions of the filling process, suchas, but not limited to, activating the filling process, deactivating thefilling process, selecting parameters of the filling process (such as,but not limited to, selecting a pressure to fill the gas cylinder 16with and/or the like), and/or the like. The control system 28 includesan activation input 43 that enables an operator to manually startfilling the gas cylinder 16 with gas. In the exemplary embodiment, theactivation input 43 is remote from the control panel 34. Alternatively,the control panel 34 includes the activation input 43. The control panel34 optionally includes inputs 40 that enable an operator to manuallycontrol some or all of the filling process, such as, but not limited to,activating the filling process, deactivating the filling process,selecting parameters of the filling process (such as, but not limitedto, selecting a pressure to fill the gas cylinder 16 with and/or thelike), and/or the like. In the exemplary embodiment, the control panel34 includes a fill pressure input 41 and an emergency stop input 42. Thefill pressure input 41 enables an operator to manually select thepressure to fill the gas cylinder 16 with from a range of fillpressures. The emergency stop input 42 enables an operator to stopfilling the gas cylinder 16 with gas. The control panel 34 optionallyincludes a display 44 for displaying, such as, but not limited to,warnings, indications, parameters of the filling process, and/or thelike.

The RFID readers 22 and 24 are each configured to read data from one ormore RFID tags 46 on the gas cylinder 16. The RFID reader 22 is ahand-held RFID reader. The RFID reader 24 is fixedly mounted on thehousing 18 of the charge station 12. In the exemplary embodiment, theRFID readers 22 and 24 are each operatively connected to the datacollection system 20 using a respective electrical cable 48 and 50 (theelectrical cable 50 is not visible in FIG. 2). However, the RFID readers22 and 24 may each be connected to the data collection system 20 usingany suitable means, such as, but not limited to, using a wirelesstransmitter (not shown).

The data collection system 20 is operatively connected to the controlsystem 28 for automatically controlling some or all portions of thefilling process, such as, but not limited to, activating the fillingprocess, deactivating the filling process, selecting parameters of thefilling process (such as, but not limited to, selecting a pressure tofill the gas cylinder 16 with and/or the like), and/or the like. Thedata collection system 20 optionally includes one or more memories 52configured to store data, such as, but not limited to, data read fromthe RFID tag 46 by the RFID reader 22 and/or 24, data related to the gascylinder 16, data related to the gas cylinder filling system 10(including data related to the charge station 12), and/or the like. Thedata read from the RFID tag 46 by the RFID reader 22 and/or 24, the datarelated to the gas cylinder 16, and the data related to the gas cylinderfilling system 10 (including data related to the charge station 12) mayinclude, but is not limited to, a serial number of the gas cylinder 16,an operating pressure of the gas cylinder 16, a hydrostatic test date ofthe gas cylinder 16, a manufactured date of the gas cylinder 16, a typeof the gas cylinder 16, an end of life date of the gas cylinder 16, anearly warning of upcoming cylinder obsolescence of the gas cylinder 16,an upcoming hydrostatic test requirement of the gas cylinder 16,frequency of usage of the gas cylinder 16, a utilization of the gascylinder 16, justification for additional equipment related to the gascylinder 16, the charge station 12, and/or the system 10, a location ofthe gas cylinder 16, a filling date of the gas cylinder 16, anidentification of the system 10, a location of the system 10, a currentdate, a current time, ambient air sample data, and an identification ofan operator.

The data collection system 20 optionally includes one or more processors54 operatively connected to the memory 52, the RFID readers 22 and/or24, and/or any component of the control system 28. The processor 54 mayreceive data from the memory 52, the memory 38, another component of thecontrol system 28, and/or from the RFID readers 22 and/or 24. The datareceived from the memory 52, the memory 38, another component of thecontrol system 28, and/or the RFID readers 22 and/or 24 may include, butis not limited to, data read from the RFID tag 46 by the RFID readers 22and/or 24, data related to the gas cylinder 16, data related to the gascylinder filling system 10 (including data relating to the chargestation 12), and/or the like. The processor 54 may make variousdecisions and/or may take various actions based on the data receivedfrom the memory 52 the memory 38, another component of the controlsystem 28, and/or the RFID readers 22 and/or 24. For example, theprocessor 54 may automatically control some or all portions of thefilling process, such as, but not limited to, activating the fillingprocess, deactivating the filling process, selecting parameters of thefilling process (such as, but not limited to, selecting a pressure tofill the gas cylinder 16 with and/or the like), and/or the like.Exemplary decisions and/or actions of the processor 54 are describedbelow with respect to FIG. 4. The processor 54 is not limited to thedecisions and/or actions illustrated in FIG. 4 and described withrespect thereto.

The processor 54 may transmit data to an optional storage system 56 thatis not a component of the charge station 12. For example, the processor54 may transmit data to a memory 58 of the storage system 56. Theprocessor 54 may transmit data read from the RFID tag 46 by the RFIDreaders 22 and/or 24, data related to the gas cylinder 16, data relatedto the gas cylinder filling system 10 (including data related to thecharge station 12), and/or the like. The processor 54 may transmit thedata using any suitable means, such as, but not limited to, using anoptional wireless data transmitter 60 of the data collection system 20and/or using an optional cable 62 of the data collection system 20. Theprocessor 54 may write data to the memory 52, the memory 38, the memory58, and/or the RFID tag 46. The processor 54 may write data read fromthe RFID tag 46 by the RFID readers 22 and/or 24, data related to thegas cylinder 16, data related to the gas cylinder filling system 10(including data related to the charge station 12), and/or the like.Moreover, the RFID readers 22 and/or 24 may each write data to thememory 52, the memory 38, the memory 58, and/or the RFID tag 46. TheRFID readers 22 and/or 24 may each write data read from the RFID tag 46by the RFID readers 22 and/or 24, data related to the gas cylinder 16,data related to the gas cylinder filling system 10 (including datarelated to the charge station 12), and/or the like.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a method200 for filling the gas cylinder 16 (FIGS. 1 and 2) with gas using thegas cylinder filling system 10 (FIGS. 1 and 2). The method 200 mayinclude, but is not limited to including, the following steps. Steps ofthe method 200 described and/or illustrated herein may also be omittedfrom the method 200. An empty or partially filled gas cylinder 16 isloaded 202 into a cylinder dock 19 (FIGS. 1 and 2) of the charge station12 (FIGS. 1 and 2). Loading 202 the gas cylinder 16 into the cylinderdock 19 may include orienting the RFID tag 46 (FIGS. 1 and 2). Data isread 204 from the RFID tag 46 using the RFID reader 22 (FIGS. 1 and 2)and/or the RFID reader 24 (FIGS. 1 and 2). The data read 204 from theRFID readers 22 and/or 24 is received 206 by the data collection system20. The processor 54 determines 208 if an end of life date of the gascylinder 16 has expired. If the end of life date of the gas cylinder 16has expired, at step 210 the processor 54 displays (on the display 44 ora display, not shown, of the system 20) a warning that the end of lifedate has expired, displays a warning that the gas cylinder 16 should notbe filled by the charge station 12, displays a warning that the gascylinder 16 should be removed from service, prevents the gas cylinder 16from being filled with gas by the charge station 12, and/or the like.

If the end of life date of the gas cylinder 16 has not expired, at step212 the processor 54 determines whether a hydrostatic test date of thegas cylinder 16 has expired. If the hydrostatic test date of the gascylinder 16 has expired, at step 214 the processor 54 displays a warningthat the cylinder hydrostatic test date has expired, displays a warningthat the gas cylinder 16 should not be filled by the charge station 12,displays a warning that the gas cylinder 16 should be removed fromservice, prevents the gas cylinder 16 from being filled with gas by thecharge station 12, and/or the like.

If the hydrostatic test date of the gas cylinder 16 has not expired, atstep 216 the processor 54 determines if an operating pressure of the gascylinder 16 equals a fill pressure setting of the charge station 12. Ifthe operating pressure of the gas cylinder 16 does not equal the fillpressure setting of the charge station 12, at step 218 the processor 54may display a warning that the operating pressure of the gas cylinder 16does not equal the fill pressure setting of the charge station 12, maydisplay a warning that the gas cylinder 16 should not be filled by thecharge station 12, may prevent the gas cylinder 16 from being filledwith gas by the charge station 12, may display an indication that thefill pressure setting of the charge station 12 should be changed, and/orthe like. An operator may then manually change 220 the fill pressuresetting of the charge station 12 to equal the operating pressure of thegas cylinder 16. In addition or alternative to the any portion(s) of thesteps 218 and 220, if the operating pressure of the cylinder 14 does notequal the fill pressure setting of the charge station 12, the processor54 may automatically change 222 the fill pressure setting of the chargestation 12 to equal the operating pressure of the gas cylinder 16.

When the operating pressure of the gas cylinder 16 equals the fillpressure setting of the charge station 12, the processor 54 may display224 an indication that an operator can manually activate the chargestation 12 to fill the gas cylinder 16 with gas. In alternative tomanual activation of the charge station 12, the processor 54 mayautomatically activate 226 the charge station 12 to fill the gascylinder 16 with gas.

At step 228, the processor 54 and/or the RFID readers 22 and/or 24 maywrite to the memory 52 (FIGS. 1 and 2), the memory 38 (FIGS. 1 and 2),the memory 58 (FIGS. 1 and 2), and/or to the RFID tag 46: data read fromthe RFID tag 46 by the RFID readers 22 and/or 24, data related to thegas cylinder 16; data related to the gas cylinder filling system 10(including data related to the charge station 12), and/or the like. Atstep 230, the processor 54 may transmit to the storage system 56 (FIGS.1 and 2): data read from the RFID tag 46 by the RFID readers 22 and/or14, data related to the gas cylinder 16, data related to the gascylinder filling system 10 (including data related to the charge station12), and/or the like.

After filling the gas cylinder 16, the data read from the RFID tag 46 bythe RFID readers 22 and/or 24, the data related to the gas cylinder 16,the data related to the gas cylinder filling system 10 (including datarelated to the charge station 12), and/or the like can be used to trackand/or manage a plurality of gas cylinders. Uses of data may include,but are not limited to: early warning of upcoming cylinder obsolescence,upcoming hydrostatic test requirements, frequency of usage, equipmentutilization, justification for additional equipment, tracking ofcylinder locations, manage other fire department assets (such as, butnot limited to, thermal imaging cameras, SCBA components, regulators,masks, pressure reducers, and/or the like), and/or the like.

The embodiments described and/or illustrated herein may provide a gascylinder filling system that may be operated by an operator having lesstraining as compared to at least some known gas cylinder fillingsystems. The embodiments described and/or illustrated herein provide agas cylinder filling system that may reduce a number of operator errorsas compared to at least some known gas cylinder filling systems.

In some embodiments, the data collection system 20 may be a component ofthe control system 28. Moreover, any functions, method steps, decisions,actions, and/or the like of the processor 54 and the data collectionsystem 20 may be additionally or alternatively performed by the controlsystem 20.

The subject matter described and/or illustrated herein includes a gascylinder filling system that utilizes an RFID tag and reader to supplydata from a gas cylinder to a data collection system and/or a controlsystem for use filling gas cylinders with gas.

Exemplary embodiments are described and/or illustrated herein in detail.The embodiments are not limited to the specific embodiments describedherein, but rather, components and/or steps of each embodiment may beutilized independently and separately from other components and/or stepsdescribed herein. Each component, and/or each step of one embodiment,can also be used in combination with other components and/or steps ofother embodiments. When introducing elements/components/etc. describedand/or illustrated herein, the articles “a”, “an”, “the”, “said”, and“at least one” are intended to mean that there are one or more of theelement(s)/component(s)/etc. The terms “comprising”, “including” and“having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may beadditional element(s)/component(s)/etc. other than the listedelement(s)/component(s)/etc. Moreover, the terms “first,” “second,” and“third,” etc. in the claims are used merely as labels, and are notintended to impose numerical requirements on their objects. Dimensions,types of materials, orientations of the various components, and thenumber and positions of the various components described and/orillustrated herein are intended to define parameters of certainembodiments, and are by no means limiting and are merely exemplaryembodiments. Many other embodiments and modifications within the spiritand scope of the claims will be apparent to those of skill in the artupon reviewing the description and illustrations. The scope of thesubject matter described and/or illustrated herein should therefore bedetermined with reference to the appended claims, along with the fullscope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Further, thelimitations of the following claims are not written inmeans-plus-function format and are not intended to be interpreted basedon 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph, unless and until such claimlimitations expressly use the phrase “means for” followed by a statementof function void of further structure.

While the subject matter described and/or illustrated herein has beendescribed and/or illustrated in terms of various specific embodiments,those skilled in the art will recognize that the subject matterdescribed and/or illustrated herein can be practiced with modificationwithin the spirit and scope of the claims.

1. A charge station for filling a gas cylinder with gas, said chargestation comprising: a gas output port configured to be fluidly connectedto a supply of gas, the gas output port configured to be fluidlyconnected to the gas cylinder for filling the gas cylinder with gas fromthe supply of gas; a control system operatively connected to the gasoutput such that the control system is configured to control filling ofthe gas cylinder; and a radio frequency identification (RFID) readeroperatively connected to the control system, the RFID reader configuredto read data from an REID tag on the gas cylinder.
 2. The charge stationaccording to claim 1, further comprising a data collection systemoperatively connected to the RFID reader to receive data read from theRFID tag on the gas cylinder, the data collection system beingoperatively connected to the control system such that the datacollection system is configured to at least one of send data read fromthe RFID tag to the control system and control filling of the gascylinder based at least in part on data received from the RFID reader.3. The charge station according to claim 1, further comprising a datacollection system operatively connected to the RFID reader to receivedata read from the RFID tag on the gas cylinder, wherein at least one ofthe data collection system and the control system is configured to storeat least one of data read from the RFID tag by the RFID reader, datarelated to the gas cylinder, and data related to the charge station. 4.The charge station according to claim 1, wherein the RFID reader isconfigured to read from the RFID tag at least one of a serial number ofthe gas cylinder, an operating pressure of the gas cylinder, ahydrostatic test date of the gas cylinder, a manufactured date of thegas cylinder, a type of the gas cylinder, an end of life date of the gascylinder, an early warning of upcoming cylinder obsolescence of the gascylinder, an upcoming hydrostatic test requirement of the gas cylinder,frequency of usage of the gas cylinder, a utilization of the gascylinder, justification for additional equipment related to at least oneof the gas cylinder and the charge station, a location of the gascylinder, a filling date of the gas cylinder, an identification of thecharge station, a location of the charge station, a current date, acurrent time, ambient air sample data, and an identification of anoperator.
 5. The charge station according to claim 1, wherein one of:the RFID reader comprises a hand-held RFID reader; and the RFID readeris fixedly mounted on the charge station.
 6. A gas cylinder fillingsystem for filling a gas cylinder with gas, said gas cylinder fillingsystem comprising: a supply of gas; and a charge station comprising: agas output port fluidly connected to the supply of gas, the gas outputport configured to be fluidly connected to the gas cylinder for fillingthe gas cylinder with gas from the supply of gas; a control systemoperatively connected to the gas output such that the control system isconfigured to control filling of the gas cylinder; and a radio frequencyidentification (RFID) reader operatively connected to the controlsystem, the RFID reader configured to read data from an RFID tag on thegas cylinder.
 7. The gas cylinder filling system according to claim 6,further comprising a data collection system operatively connected to theRFID reader to receive data read from the RFID tag on the gas cylinder,the data collection system being operatively connected to the controlsystem such that the data collection system is configured to at leastone of send data read from the RFID tag to the control system andcontrol filling of the gas cylinder based at least in part on datareceived from the RFID reader.
 8. The gas cylinder filling systemaccording to claim 6, further comprising a data collection systemoperatively connected to the RFID reader to receive data read from theRFID tag on the gas cylinder, wherein at least one of the datacollection system and the control system is configured to store at leastone of data read from the RFID tag by the RFID reader, data related tothe gas cylinder, and data related to the charge station.
 9. The gascylinder filling system according to claim 6, wherein the RFID reader isconfigured to read from the RFID tag at least one of a serial number ofthe gas cylinder, an operating pressure of the gas cylinder, ahydrostatic test date of the gas cylinder, a manufactured date of thegas cylinder, a type of the gas cylinder, an end of life date of the gascylinder, an early warning of upcoming cylinder obsolescence of the gascylinder, an upcoming hydrostatic test requirement of the gas cylinder,frequency of usage of the gas cylinder, a utilization of the gascylinder, justification for additional equipment related to at least oneof the gas cylinder and the gas cylinder filling system, a location ofthe gas cylinder, a filling date of the gas cylinder, an identificationof the charge station, a location of the charge station, a current date,a current time, ambient air sample data, and an identification of anoperator.
 10. The gas cylinder filling system according to claim 6,wherein the charge station comprises the supply of gas.
 11. A method forfilling a gas cylinder with gas using a charge station, said methodcomprising: reading data from a radio frequency identification (RFID)tag on the gas cylinder; and filling the gas cylinder with gas based atleast in part on data read from the RFID tag on the gas cylinder. 12.The method according to claim 11, wherein filling the gas cylinder withgas comprises automatically filling the gas cylinder using a processor.13. The method according to claim 11, further comprising storing atleast one of data read from the RFID tag by the RFID reader, datarelated to the gas cylinder, and data related to the charge station. 14.The method according to claim 11, wherein reading data from the RFID tagcomprises reading at least one of a serial number of the gas cylinder,an operating pressure of the gas cylinder, a hydrostatic test date ofthe gas cylinder, a manufactured date of the gas cylinder, a type of thegas cylinder, an end of life date of the gas cylinder, an early warningof upcoming cylinder obsolescence of the gas cylinder, an upcominghydrostatic test requirement of the gas cylinder, frequency of usage ofthe gas cylinder, a utilization of the gas cylinder, justification foradditional equipment related to at least one of the gas cylinder and thegas cylinder filling system, a location of the gas cylinder, a fillingdate of the gas cylinder, an identification of the charge station, alocation of the charge station, a current date, a current time, ambientair sample data, and an identification of an operator.
 15. The methodaccording to claim 11, further comprising automatically determining ifan end of life date of the cylinder has expired using a processor andbased at least in part on data read from the RFID tag on the gascylinder.
 16. The method according to claim 15, wherein upon determiningthat the end of life date of the cylinder has expired, the methodfurther comprises using the processor to automatically at least one ofdisplay a warning that the cylinder end of life date has expired,display a warning that the cylinder should not be filled by the chargestation, display a warning that the cylinder should be removed fromservice, and prevent the cylinder from being filled with gas by thecharge station.
 17. The method according to claim 11, further comprisingautomatically determining whether a hydrostatic test date of thecylinder has expired using a processor and based at least in part ondata read from the RFID tag on the gas cylinder.
 18. The methodaccording to claim 17, wherein upon determining that the hydrostatictest date of the cylinder has expired, the method further comprisesusing the processor to automatically at least one of display a warningthat the cylinder hydrostatic test date has expired, display a warningthat the cylinder should not be filled by the charge station, display awarning that the cylinder should be removed from service, and preventthe cylinder from being filled with gas by the charge station.
 19. Themethod according to claim 11, further comprising automaticallydetermining if an operating pressure of the cylinder equals a fillpressure setting of the charge station using a processor and based atleast in part on data read from the RFID tag on the gas cylinder. 20.The method according to claim 11, further comprising at least one of:upon determining that the operating pressure of the cylinder does notequal the fill pressure setting of the charge station, using theprocessor to automatically at least one of display a warning that theoperating pressure of the cylinder does not equal the fill pressuresetting of the charge station, display a warning that the cylindershould not be filled by the charge station, prevent the cylinder frombeing filled with gas by the charge station, display an indication thatthe fill pressure setting of the charge station should be changed, andchange the fill pressure setting of the charge station to equal theoperating pressure of the cylinder; and upon determining that theoperating pressure of the cylinder equals the fill pressure setting ofthe charge station, using the processor to automatically at least one ofdisplay an indication that a user can activate the charge station tofill the cylinder with gas, and activate the charge station to fill thecylinder with gas.